CIO upfront: Voice activated technology must evolve in order to truly transform the workplace

CIO upfront: Voice activated technology must evolve in order to truly transform the workplace

Misuse of data could compromise privacy or individual rights, prompt incorrect decisions or a misapplication of skills and, ultimately, drive a very consequential loss of employee trust in the organisation, writes Ben Morgan of Accenture Interactive NZ

The great hope is that this technology will free people to focus on more creative and strategic work. Yet, this is some way off

Ben Morgan, Accenture Interactive NZ

Picture this: Imagine having your own virtual assistant who comes with you to work, is with you wherever you are. Need a meeting booked, no problem, simply ask you virtual buddy to do it. Or can’t find a certain file, your voice powered virtual assistant has you covered– simply describe what you are looking for and like magic it appears on screen.

These are some examples of where Digital Voice Activated (DVA) devices are headed in New Zealand workplaces, but there is still a way to go.

There is no doubt the popularity of Amazon Echo and other DVA devices is already impacting how New Zealanders do business. In the consumer sphere, people are using these devices to play music, get the weather forecast, and activate their home alarms.

A staggering 50 per cent of global online consumers now use DVAs (up from 43 per cent a year ago), with people in China, the UAE, India and Mexico leading the way, according to Accenture’s Digital Consumer Survey. The use of standalone DVAs, like the Amazon Echo, Google Home and Apple HomePod in the United States has outstripped embedded DVA use in smartphones and other devices. And all the technology giants are developing capabilities for voice-activated AIs specifically for the workplace.

Consumers are already comfortable to hand over increasingly advanced tasks and responsibilities to their DVAs, but this is just the start and there’s a clear expectation these devices will take on progressively complex workloads, according to the research.

Copyright 2019 IDG Communications. ABN 14 001 592 650. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of IDG Communications is prohibited.